Russia loses all four UN elections as global isolation grows

Russia would face “global isolation” if it invaded Ukraine: a warning from Western alliances seems to be materialising. Russia recently contested four United Nations committee elections and lost all of them.

The elections, which were held in the Economic and Social Council on Wednesday, decided memberships to various subsidiary organs of the United Nations. These included UNICEF Executive Board, Committee on Non-Governmental Organisations, Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and UN Women Executive Board.

Also Read: How Russia-Ukraine war is impacting France’s presidential elections

India, on the other hand, succeeded in winning the elections for four committees of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). India’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations announced in a social media post on Wednesday that the country won the elections for Commission for Social Development, Committee on NGOs, and Commission on Science and Technology for Development.

India’s Ambassador Preeti Saran also got re-elected to the Committee for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the social media post added.

United Kingdom’s Mission to the United Nations wrote in a tweet on Wednesday, “The UN membership is isolating Russia and stands with Ukraine.”

Also Read: Russia expels 15 NGOs, including Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International

The European Union delegation at United Nations headquarters in New York said that the results of the ECOSOC elections show that Russia’s aggression has disqualified them from serving in key bodies of the UN, PTI reported.

A week before the ECOSOC vote, the General Assembly voted to eliminate Russia from the Human Rights Council, citing concerning reports of “war crimes” from the Ukrainian city of Bucha. The vote was spearheaded by United States Ambassador to United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield.

Also Read: US to resume training with Ukrainian forces amid Russian invasion: Pentagon

The vote on the United States– initiated resolution suspending Russia ended with a 93-24 tally and 58 abstentions, Associated Press reported.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, while addressing the United Nations Security Council earlier this month, told the committee to either remove Russia from the committee or dissolve it.